Thicker Than Blood
by EdwardHasMyHeart
Summary: What if Stefan wasn't the brother that Elena met first? What if it was Damon instead?


"Oh my gosh Elena!" Caroline Forbes ran to her best friend as soon as she saw her enter the school. She slammed into Elena for a tight embrace. "I am so glad that you're back! It feels like it's been forever." Her words were compassionate, but anyone around them could tell by Caroline's tone that she wasn't completely serious. Sure, she was happy that Elena was back at school, but that also meant that all the attention would once again go back to the famous Elena Gilbert. Caroline pulled back from their embrace to face Elena. "Are you okay? I am so sorry about the accident."

Elena stared into Caroline's blue eyes. She knew Caroline a little too well to realize this was only about pity. So, she forced a smile. "I'm fine, Caroline. Thanks for asking." Caroline smiled back, before turning her back and disappearing down the hallway. Elena let out a heavy sigh. She had only been at school for a total of four minutes and someone had already asked if she was okay. It was going to be a long day.

The school halls were filled with students laughing and talking about their summer vactions. Elena made her way through groups of them until she finally reached her locker. It was nice to be back at school, but she'd have nothing to say if someone happened to ask her about her summer vaction. At least nothing worth remembering.

Last year on May 23, 2009 Elena was in a terrible car accident with her parents. Her father had lost control of the car and it quickly sped off of Wickery Bridge into the river beneath it. With so much pressure from the water, none of them were able to break the doors open to get out. The car was sinking so fast that the last thing Elena remembered was waking up in the hospital. She had no idea what had happened to her parents until the day after the accident.

_~May 24, 2009:_

_"When do you think she'll wake up?" The first voice Elena heard when she gained consiousness back was her brother's. She could tell by his tone that something was wrong. Jeremy hardly ever spoke with fear. He was always so cheerful and happy. "The accident was yesterday. She's got to wake up eventually." Accident? Elena had no idea what he was talking about or even where she was. What was going on?_

_There was a loud sigh. "I'm sure she'll wake up soon, Jer." Elena's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. She wasn't used to hearing this voice. It was her Aunt Jenna's. Jenna didn't even live in Mystic Falls. Why was she here now? "Look Jeremy, she's moving!" There was no use pretending anymore. They knew she was waking up now. _

_Slowly, Elena opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times before someone wrapped their arms around her. There was instand sobbing, and she realized it was Jeremy. He had his face buried in her shoulder, crying. "Jeremy what's wrong?" Elena hugged him back tightly. Without answering, he continued to sob into her shoulder. His sobs grew stronger when she asked him what was wrong. _

_Elena peered over his shoulder to see Jenna rushing towards them from a corner. Jenna's eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying too. Why was everyone so upset? With a glance around the room, Elena knew where she was. She was in hospital room. That's when everything came back to her. Her mind became flooded with the events of yesterday. Her argument with her parents. Her mother screaming as the car flew off the bridge. The sound of water as it began to fill the car. Then everything had went black. _

_She felt a sob escape her own mouth. "Where's mom and dad?" The words barely made it out of her mouth, afraid of what the answer was. Tears began to stream down her face when Jenna shook her head. Water filled her eyes as she approached Elena. "No." Elena whispered. She squeezed her eyes shut and hugged Jeremy even tighter. _

_"Elena, they didn't make it." Jeremy cried against her shoulder. "The...car...there was too much water."_

_The tears fell more and more as she stared up at the ceiling. Why was this happening to her? Her parents drowned because they were trapped. They couldn't get out. Elena had to catch her breath before speaking. "Jeremy. How did I get out of the car, if mom and dad didn't?" _

_Jeremy pulled away from their embrace to look Elena in the eye. "I don't know." He choked the words out with force._

_~ End Flashback_

After that day, Elena's world was changed forever. No one knew how she got out of the car. It was next to impossible. And she'd live with guilt for the rest of her life that it should've been her that died, instead of them. Her thoughts of despair were interrupted by the first bell. She slammed her locker shut and started off to her first period class. History with Mr. Tanner. Oh joy. Mr. Tanner wasn't exactly her favorite teacher. He wasn't always understanding. And he had a bad attitude. "Hey Elena." She glanced over her shoulder to see her best friend Bonnie. "I'd ask you how you're doing, but that would make me the worst best friend in the world. People are going to be asking you that all day."

Elena smiled. "Thanks Bonnie. But I'm fine. Really." The words were much easier said then done.

"Well if you need anyone, just know that I'm here for you." Bonnie placed a hand on Elena's shoulder. They had stopped outside 's room. Neither of them very anxious to go in. Bonnie sighed slightly and looked into the classroom desperately. Her look of disappointment faded instantly into a bright smile. She gripped Elena's arm with excitement. "Elena! Look over there. In the very back corner of the room." With each word she spoke, her voice grew softer.

Elena finally understood why Bonnie was so excited. In the far corner of the room, was a new student. Not just any new student. A very attractive guy. He looked up in the direction of where the girls were standing. Bonnie kept smiling at him, while Elena looked away with a blush. "He's looking at us." Bonnie whispered.

"Ladies!" Elena jumped at the sound of 's voice. He approached the doorway with an annoyed expression. "Would you care to join us _inside_ the classroom?" He stared down at the two of them.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and headed back to her seat. She was in a hurry to get the last closest seat to the new guy. Elena smiled briefly, before turning her attention to . "Um, . I actually wanted to talk to you about the assignments that I missed at the end of last year. I wasn't sure if they were going to be excused or not."

's careful stare seemed to turn into a glare. "Well Miss. Gilbert. We'll discuss that at a later time." He then motioned Elena into the room with one arm.

Elena muttered under her breath, as she took the last empty seat. Her mind was running wild with little comebacks that she should've said to , when her pocket vibrated. She glanced up at the front of the room to make sure wasn't paying attention, before pulling out her cell phone.

**Bonnie: Hawt-E staring u!**

She smiled at the text and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. Her eyes wandered casually to the mysterious new student, to see him smiling at her. Elena blushed and turned away. There was no possible way that she could get her mind tied up in a guy right now. She had so much homework to make up from last year. Not only did she need to focus on her school work, but she also needed to focus on helping Jeremy get through all of this. He wasn't coping the best way. Elena had caught him with drugs numerous amounts of time of the Summer, but she was done giving him breaks.

_'No guys.'_ She told herself. With that thought, she took one last look at her unnamed admirer. He wasn't staring at her this time. Instead, he was looking through his history book. Little did she know, that this wasn't going to be the guy she was going to have issues keeping off her mind.

After school, Elena threw her bag over her shoulder and headed straight for the cemetary. It wasn't unsual for Elena to go to the cemetary. She had spent everyday there writing in her diary during the Summer. As she walked the few blocks, she thought of the day's events. After first period she had at least managed to figure out the name of the new mystery student. Stefan Salvatore. Mystic Falls was his hometown, but he had been away for the past years for whatever reason. That's about all she got. She didn't even run into him at all for the rest of the day, so there was no way for her to strike up a conversation. _'No guys, Elena!'_ She giggled to herself.

Finally she reached the cemetary. Her parents were buried all the way in the back, beside each other. She threw her bag onto the grass and sat against a tombstone across from her parent's. Before pulling out her diary, she took a minute to gaze at the stones with her mother and father's name. She couldn't help, but picture another tomb beside their's with her name. There was still no explanation for how she survived the accident and they didn't.

Elena furrowed her brows in confusion. A mist of fog began to surround her. She jumped to her feet quickly, not quite sure how to react. There was so much fog that she could barely see anything around her. She picked her bag off the ground and turned to head in the opposite direction in which she came in. A gasp escaped her mouth. A single crow was perched up on her father's tombstone. It's beady black eyes stared down at her. They almost reminded her of 's just this morning.

She ignored the bird and continued walking. But the crow flew up into the air and began to follow her. "Shoo! Get out of here!" Elena swatted at the crow, but it just continued to circle the air above her. "Stupid bird." She muttered. Her eyes were so focused on the crow, that she didn't see the ditch in front of her.

Before she knew it, her foot was caught in the ditch. She pulled her foot out of the ditch and began tumbling down a small hill. Her body hit a dirt pathway with a _thud._ "Ouch." Her hands were scuffed up with blood, while she felt a sharp pain in her leg.

"Hey!" A male voice, nearly made her heart stop with fear. She thought she was all alone. "Are you alright?" The voice was coming from behind her and it did not sound familiar.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Elena brushed the dirt of her pants with the back of her hands, careful not to get them bloody.

"That looked like a pretty nasty fall." The voice was no longer behind her, but in front. She jumped slightly. "Are you sure you're alright?" Elena was speechless. The guy before her was someone she'd never saw before. He had very dark hair with blue eyes that pierced her brown ones. He brushed a piece of hair out of her face, as she stared at him.

She snapped out of her gaze. "No, it's okay. I'm fine."

He smirked down at her. "Okay. Just making sure. You look a little lost." He studied her face before continuing. "I'm Damon, by the way."

"Elena." She held her hand out to his.

"It's nice to meet you Elena." Damon took her hand into his. A warm liquid made him snatch his hand away from her's. "You're bleeding." He held his hand out away from his face.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I completely forgot about it!" She looked at him in horror at how stupid she was. How could she forget that she was bleeding. "Do you get sick around blood?" She asked, when she noticed that he was looking away, and holding his hand as far from him as possible.

"Kinda." He replied.

Elena quickly, pulled her bag up to search for a tissue or something. "I really am sorry. I don't know how I forgot..." Her voice trailed off. When she looked up from her bag to see how he was holding up, there was no one there.

**Please Review!**

**I know it's not the best first chapter, but I just wanted to get their meeting out of the way. But from here or the next chapter, it will get much much better!**


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